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Accessible Villas at Disney’s Old Key West Resort



By Dave Shute

Main Pool Disney's Old Key West ResortIn mid-May 2013 I made my fourth visit since this site opened to Disney’s Old Key West Resort.

This time, I was assigned an accessible One-Bedroom Villa, and what follows are some of the differences between these spaces and standard rooms.

(There’s a full review of standard villas at Old Key West here.)

ACCESSIBLE VILLAS AT OLD KEY WEST

I noted three spaces with differences: the entry door, the kitchen, and the bath.

Door Buzzer Disney's Old Key West ResortThe entry has a buzzer which presumably provides both audible and visible signals for both the hearing and visually challenged. (I was visiting solo, so did not have a chance to test it.)

The kitchen has multiple differences compared to standard villas.

The items of the work triangle–sink, fridge  and stove–are pushed to the ends of the kitchen, so that the kitchen island presents fewer access problems.

Accessible Kitchen Sink and Counters Disney's Old Key West ResortThe sink now is set up so a wheelchair can pull up underneath it.

The countertops are at 34 inches tall, rather than 36 inches tall–at the upper end of the sensible range of such accessible counters.  Moreover, the bottoms of the wall cabinets are only 16.5 inches above the counters.  These two changes together put the lowest shelf of the wall cabinets 3.5 inches lower than in standard rooms.

Accessible Fridge Disney's Old Key West ResortThe fridge in this room gains accessibility by being side-by-side, rather than over/under as in standard rooms.

The bath has a couple of features making it much more accessible.

Accessible Bath Sink and Shower Disney's Old Key West ResortThe bath sink has clearance for a chair below it, and note both the safety bars and fold-up seat in the shower.

Accessible Toilet Disney's Old Key West ResortThe toilet area also has multiple safety bars.

My room was a lock-off One-Bedroom Villa on the ground floor.

I imagine that since only three Old Key West buildings have elevators, and because a lock-off is the most flexible type of space, that most other accessible villas at Old Key West are also first floor and lockoff.

For more on Disney’s Old Key West Resort, see this.

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2 comments

1 Stacey J { 05.14.13 at 2:07 pm }

Would the lay out at the Boardwalk have the same size fridge in the accessible studio room

2 Dave { 05.15.13 at 6:49 am }

Hi Stacey! No, it isn’t the same. Studio rooms are profoundly different from villas. Villas have full kitchens, while studios have just a mini-fridge and a microwave.

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